Liverpool's gaming industry is riding on a new wave of confidence with a host of studios enhancing the city’s growing reputation for creating popular games.

On Thursday Baltic Triangle-based Lucid Games will find out whether it has won a gaming BAFTA at a prestigious awards ceremony following the success of Geometry Wars III: Dimensions.

And Lucid is not the only local studio to have been recognised in recent years - and may not be the last as Liverpool’s gaming industry gains increasing recognition.

Having suffered the closure of big gaming firms like Bizarre and Studio Liverpool, the city’s digital sector has faced tough times in recent years.

But now, those playing a crucial role in the Liverpool’s gaming resurgence believe local studios are in the process of putting Liverpool back on the industry’s map.

Nick Burcombe of video games company Playrise Digital

Gaming expert Nick Burcombe is confident the city is on the crest of a “new wave” as the ability to distribute games online has driven development prices down.

His company, Playrise Digital, scooped a series of prizes in 2013 including Best Start-Up at the TIGA industry awards, and has seen its flagship title Table Top Racing downloaded more than 7m times.

Mr Burcombe told the ECHO: “I think it’s taken a few tough shots in the jaw [Liverpool’s gaming industry] and been knocked out a few times with the loss of big studios. But Liverpool is an absolute hub for the creative industries and the games industry now is even bigger than film and music and it’s a big opportunity.

"There’s the skills in Liverpool and we are hiring people right now, we are bringing people in. Liverpool was a major global city for gaming and it can be again.”

Following Lucid’s nomination for Best British Game at this year’s gaming BAFTAs, co-founder Nick Davies said it felt like a vindication of the hard work and passion of his team.

An image from Geometry Wars III: Dimensions, which is up for a BAFTA. Courtesy of Lucid Games

Also based in the Baltic Triangle, Lucid is another smaller studio that has helped gaming experts stay in the city after the collapse of bigger firms and is now reaping the rewards for its staff’s experience and talent.

Mr Davies said it was “nice to build a company in the city that we all know and love” and added: “I think Liverpool has got a great creative buzz, from music and film and I think that passes through to gaming - it’s a very creative city to work in.”

A government report last month named Liverpool as a digital technology hub, identifying its industry as one of the fastest growing areas outside of the capital.

And much of that growth is coming in the Baltic Triangle leading Mark Lawler, managing director at Baltic Creative, to declare the coming years an exciting time for the city.

Referring to the report, he said: “This study reaffirms our belief that the digital sector in Liverpool is going from strength to strength. It’s an exciting time to be involved in the sector in Liverpool and with growth in the sector expected to continue over the next five years, Liverpool has a lot to be excited about.

"The expected new high value jobs that the sector will create, over the next five years, will be vital for the city’s growth and success.”